Energy loss baseline for light hadrons in oxygen-oxygen collisions at sNN=5.36TeV

I present predictions for inclusive charged hadron spectra in minimum-bias proton-proton and oxygen-oxygen collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s NN = 5.36 TeV , assuming no final-state interactions. Using next-to-leading order perturbative QCD matrix elements, along with state-of-the-art (nuclear) parton distribution and fragmentation functions, I establish a baseline for the nuclear modification factor R AA h in oxygen-oxygen collisions in the absence of quenching. Theoretical uncertainties in this baseline are found to be substantial for transverse momenta below 20 GeV. In the intermediate range 20 GeV ≲ p T h ≲ 70 GeV , these uncertainties are significantly reduced to approximately 5%. At higher momenta ( p T h ≳ 70 GeV ), however, predictions exhibit a marked spread due to differences between fragmentation functions, reflecting varying assumptions about isospin symmetry. Finally, I show that considering neon-neon collisions in the initial state or neutral pions in the final state does not appreciably change the nuclear modification factor.